Friday, October 05, 2018

Across the Lake and Over the Mountain!

I love a less traveled road!I will take that road every chance I get – because you will never know just what might be around the the next bend, over the next rise, just ahead -And such was my journey to Bedford yesterday to meet up with Carol’s hubby who would help me load 2 vintage mahogany sleigh beds into the van, chatting up a storm along the way.Not my usual route – Bedford is about 30 minutes drive WEST of Lynchburg, and the GPS sent me up toward Roanoke, and then East at Rocky mount, through the mountains. At once point I crossed the vast expanse of Smith Mountain Lake – the location that so named our Smith Mountain Morning quilt from my book Scraps & Shirttails IIand I was reminded all over again of just how soul centering this place is.It was abouut 9am as I crossed the lake, the sun glinting off the water, some fishermen gliding on its surface – likely having been out there since dawn.The sun had done a good job of burning through the early October mist, and it reconfirmed to my “Slow down and don’t be in such a hurry to get there” self that these joys are missed if we go through life with blinders on at a too fast, stick to the agenda pace.

There they are, in the back of the van! BEAUTIFUL!

The beautiful Bedford County Courthouse!

This job taken care of, I had the rest of the day stretched out in front of me – I wandered east through Lynchburg and north up to Charlottesville, and on a whim – went East again once I hit I-64. There is a CLUSTER of Antiquing goodness in the Richmond area, a mere 45 minutes from my turn off where highway 29 meets I-64.

Let it it also be said that I KNOW there are awesome quilt shops in the area as well, but I didn’t stop this time. Some days are just for wandering solo.

Oh pretty!

I don’t know what it is about my love of pretty dishes, but knowing that I can’t own them all – I did give them a good pet – There were not enough really to make a set of anything, but aren’t they pretty?

And I wondered about the “instant ancestors” in the photo frames – where were they? I could make up stories about them I guess – “Once their eyes met across a crowded room they knew they were soulmates and would spend their lives making each other happy……” Oh, and “He let her indulge every fabric whim as she made beautiful quilts from morning until night…..” LOL!

Lovely little lady!!

The decals were great, the electrical not so much.

But wonderful to save as a photo!

Fortune cooke salt & pepper shakers!

I love how kookie (cookie!) these are!

(I’m regretting that I didn’t buy them,, but oh, well!)

And yes yes yes!

This goes right along with a conversation I had with my dad reminiscing about when I was little! He said “I always knew you were a determined little girl, but never could guess just where that would take you!” (Love my daddy –can you tell?)

Lunch with a tobacco barn!

I love taking a sack lunch and finding a spot where I can eat it in the shade of an old tree. This was at Meadow Farm outside of Glen Allen – and though it looks idyllic, let me tell you that I never considered the mosquitoes this late in October!

Or the fact that it would be 90 degrees out.

But isn’t this old drying barn just the cutest thing? Surrounded by tobacco plants - it looks so authentic.

Still that was the quickest sack lunch you ever saw anyone eat and I was out of there before the mozzies up and carried me away. This morning there are huge welts on my arms, my ankles and a doozy on my neck, the vicious little vampires!

The mosquitoes have tripled in size and in number since the Hurricane – all of the standing wet everywhere is just such a breeding ground.

I finished up my night with some English Paper piecing -

But I have a confession to make. Before heading out to Arizona for Mark’s memorial service I had “off loaded” a stack of completed blocks to lighten my load.

I put them in the proverbial “Safe Place” so that I wouldn’t lose them.

Can I find them? NO!

This has resulted in several rounds of “clean the sewing studio” hoping they would turn up. There are more than a dozen, closer to 20 of them – SOMEWHERE.

Maybe those fortune cookie salt & pepper shakers know where they are? Hopefully they turn up before I need to put this quilt together.

This morning I am on the road to meet up with Jeanette in Staunton VA to pick up the twin bed frames she has carted down from New Jersey.

And then I’m on my way to Mouth of Wilson to drop everything off at Quiltville Inn.

Did you happen to catch yesterday's Quiltmaker Bundle Gift-Away?? Enter to win ON THAT POST.

Quiltville Quote of the Day.

Vintage quilt found in West Jefferson, NC.

The quilt was evidently an un-quilted top that was finished some time later – bright acrylic yarn ties and poly batting tell that story!

Putting out anyone else's light does not make yours shine any brighter -

19 comments:

I too love pretty dishes and to pick just one for the whole table was too hard. So, I pick them all. Like a scrappy quilt. Each place setting will be different. Quiltville Inn is growing strong and before you know it, it will be filled with laughter and love by many. Fun to watch the process.

I always dreamed of having a set of dishes for each meal,occasion, season, holiday, and mood. Those dreams always included lots of people eating off those dishes, so I guess that is the real appeal -- the way food brings people together. Love your description of that super fast lunch with the vampire invaders. LOL

Before I discovered the excel spreadsheet that is exactly what I did, I would call a friend and tell her where I was putting something in a safe place. She always remembered when i didn't. Now I use excel for this purpose for Christmas gifts as I can never remember where I put what I bought for who.

If one of those mosquitoes came near me I'd be leaving asap. They just love me along with ants. Glad you obtained more things for the Quiltville Inn. It's growing by leaps and bounds. Oh I would have to buy that salt and pepper shaker!!

The bugs around the Mississippi are Vampires. And BIG!! Great packing for the Sleigh Beds. You really know how to fill the Van! Where is that Box that says "Safe Place"?? Hope they show up soon. Have a great Friday. I'm planning our Mystery Fridays at the LQS.

Those sleigh beds are beautiful such a rich colour, those salt and pepper shakers are adorable and I think I’d have had to have them.Such beautiful scenery a shame you packed lunch was spoiled by mossies, hope the bites aren’t too itchy Love and quilty hugs Anne xxx

Bonnie-Yours is the only blog I take the time to follow. Mostly because I get so much good from it and it makes me feel better every time I take the few minutes to read it.Your honesty and humor as you travel the bumpy roads of life help me to accept my life with its own bumps and twists. I had lost a pair of shoes, almost brand new, with custom orthotics (sp?) built in and could not find them for weeks. I looked, I contacted family, and then finally yesterday, when I took an extra few minutes at work, I found them in a very strange place, I'm sure somewhere I thought was safe at the time, and felt so satisfied. I hope your EPP blocks turn up for you sooner rather than later. Thank you always for sharing and helping to make everyday occurrences feel OK to your readers.

Bonnie, next time you are in a book store or on Amazon, pick up a copy of Robert Frost's poems. Your tobacco barn stop reminded me of his "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". Wrong season, but you'll get the idea. Your wanderings are reminiscent of his "The Road Less Traveled".

I had to laugh when I read about your missing blocks. 8 years ago I had started work on my first quilt in many years. Then I had to pack up to move. After moving I couldn't find those blocks for anything. Finally gave up - figured they were lost forever. Dial forward 4 years & I moved again. When unpacking & putting my sewing room together I found them! Hope it doesn't take so long for you to find your lost blocks.

What an extraordinary opportunity you're having filling Quiltville Inn with the antique treasures of friends and readers. I'm reading so much about how today's young adults don't want this "old" stuff which is their loss and your gain!